Erika Rosales: Speaker Ryan, as a Dreamer I Cannot ‘Rest Easy’

According to a new Marquette University poll, 86 percent of Wisconsin voters believe undocumented immigrants should be able to permanently remain in the country. The overwhelming majority — 71 percent — think the federal government should offer these individuals the chance to become citizens.

That makes sense. Americans are welcoming. The vast majority can recall where their families came from, and most understand undocumented immigrants came to United States to work and to find a better life.

It also makes sense because immigrants, documented and undocumented, benefit the state’s economy. Foreign-born residents pay $675 million in state and local taxes and more than twice that to the federal government. They own homes, cars, and businesses. The state’s 13,300 immigrant entrepreneurs provide nearly 58,000 jobs.